1. Field
The present invention relates to packet flow processing in a communication system, and more specifically to packet flow mapping and treatment to support multiple service instances in a communication system having an Internet Protocol (IP) component.
2. Background
Communication systems supporting data communications often include an Internet Protocol (IP) component or portion, wherein data is communicated in an IP format. Similarly, a communication system may be in communication with an IP system, or may participate in a communication with an IP node. For such communications, data is transported in packets; a sequence of packets is referred to as a “packet flow.” In order to process the packet flow, the infrastructure element(s) of a communication system require certain information. For example, the infrastructure element(s) may need header compression and/or mapping information so that the infrastructure element(s) can direct the packet flows to appropriate link-layer connections.
There is therefore a need in the art to provide packet flow information to the infrastructure elements requiring such information. Similarly, there is a need for an efficient method for mapping and treatment of packet flows in a communication system.